To that gentle yet mystical sway the spirit of Lothair had yielded. What was the precise character of his feelings to Theodora—what were his hopes, or views—he had hitherto had neither the time nor the inclination4 to make certain. The present was so delightful5, and the enjoyment6 of her society had been so constant and complete, that he had ever driven the future from his consideration. Had the conduct of Theodora been different, had she deigned7 to practise on his affections, appealed to his sensibility, stimulated8 or piqued9 his vanity, it might have been otherwise. In the distraction10 of his heart, or the disturbance11 of his temper, he might have arrived at conclusions, and even expressed them, incompatible12 with the exquisite13 and even sublime14 friendship, which had so strangely and beautifully arisen, like a palace in a dream, and absorbed his being. Although their acquaintance could hardly be numbered by months, there was no living person of whom he had seen so much, or to whom he had opened his heart and mind with such profuse15 ingenuousness16. Nor on her part, though apparently17 shrinking from egotism, had there ever been any intellectual reserve. On the contrary, although never authoritative18, and, even when touching19 on her convictions, suggesting rather than dictating20 them, Lothair could not but feel that, during the happy period he had passed in her society, not only his taste had refined but his mind had considerably21 opened; his views had become larger, his sympathies had expanded; he considered with charity things and even persons from whom a year ago he would have recoiled22 with alarm or aversion.
The time during which Theodora had been his companion was the happiest period of his life. It was more than that; he could conceive no felicity greater, and all that he desired was that it should endure. Since they first met, scarcely four-and-twenty hours had passed without his being in her presence; and now, notwithstanding the novelty and the variety of the objects around him and the vast, and urgent, and personal interest which they involve he felt a want which meeting her, or the daily prospect23 of meeting her, could alone supply. Her voice lingered in his ear; he gazed upon a countenance24 invisible to others; and he scarcely saw or did any thing without almost unconsciously associating with it her opinion or approbation25.
Well, then, the spell was complete. The fitfulness or melancholy27 which so often is the doom28 of youth, however otherwise favored, who do not love, was not the condition, capricious or desponding, of Lothair. In him combined all the accidents and feelings which enchant29 existence.
He had been rambling30 in the solitudes31 of his park, and had thrown himself on the green shadow of a stately tree, his cheek resting on his arm, and lost in reverie amid the deep and sultry silence. Wealthy and young, noble and full of noble thoughts, with the inspiration of health, surrounded by the beautiful, and his heart softened32 by feelings as exquisite, Lothair, nevertheless, could not refrain from pondering over the mystery of that life which seemed destined33 to bring to him only delight.
“Life would be perfect,” he at length exclaimed, “if it would only last.” But it will not last; and what then? He could not reconcile interest in this life with the conviction of another, and an eternal one. It seemed to him that, with such a conviction, man could have only one thought and one occupation—the future, and preparation for it. With such a conviction, what they called reality appeared to him more vain and nebulous than the scones34 and sights of sleep. And he had that conviction; at least he had it once. Had he it now? Yes; he had it now, but modified, perhaps, in detail. He was not so confident as he was a few months ago, that he could be ushered35 by a Jesuit from his deathbed to the society of St. Michael and all the angels. There might be long processes of initiation—intermediate states of higher probation26 and refinement36. There might be a horrible and apathetic37 pause. When millions of ages appeared to be necessary to mature the crust of a rather insignificant38 planet, it might be presumption39 in man to assume that his soul, though immortal40, was to reach its final destination regardless of all the influences of space and time.
And the philosophers and distinguished41 men of science with whom of late he had frequently enjoyed the opportunity of becoming acquainted, what were their views? They differed among themselves: did any of them agree with him? How they accounted for every thing except the only point on which man requires revelation! Chance, necessity, atomic theories, nebular hypotheses, development, evolution, the origin of worlds, human ancestry—here were high topics, on none of which was there lack of argument; and, in a certain sense, of evidence; and what then? There must be design. The reasoning and the research of all philosophy could not be valid42 against that conviction. If there were no design, why, it would all be nonsense; and he could not believe in nonsense. And if there were design, there must be intelligence; and if intelligence, pure intelligence; and pure intelligence was inconsistent with any disposition43 but perfect good. But between the all-wise and the all-benevolent and man, according to the new philosophers, no relations were to be any longer acknowledged. They renounce44 in despair the possibility of bringing man into connection with that First Cause which they can neither explain nor deny. But man requires that there shall be direct relations between the created and the Creator; and that in those relations he should find a solution of the perplexities of existence. The brain that teems45 with illimitable thought, will never recognize as his creator any power of Nature, however irresistible46, that is not gifted with consciousness. Atheism47 may be consistent with fine taste, and fine taste under certain conditions may for a time regulate a polished society; but ethics48 with atheism are impossible; and without ethics no human order can be strong or permanent.
The Church comes forward, and, without equivocation49, offers to establish direct relations between God and man. Philosophy denies its title, and disputes its power. Why? Because they are founded on the supernatural. What is the supernatural? Can there be any thing more miraculous50 than the existence of man and the world?—any thing more literally51 supernatural than the origin of things? The Church explains what no one else pretends to explain, and which, every one agrees, it is of first moment should be made clear.
The clouds of a summer eve were glowing in the creative and flickering52 blaze of the vanished sun, that had passed like a monarch53 from the admiring sight, yet left his pomp behind. The golden and amber54 vapors55 fell into forms that to the eye of the musing56 Lothair depicted57 the objects of his frequent meditation. There seemed to rise in the horizon the dome58 and campaniles and lofty aisles59 of some celestial60 fane, such as he had often more than dreamed of raising to the revealed author of life and death. Altars arose and sacred shrines61, and delicate chantries and fretted62 spires63; now the flashing phantom64 of heavenly choirs65, and then the dim response of cowled and earthly cenobites:
“These are black Vesper’s pageants66!”
点击收听单词发音
1 solitude | |
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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2 meditation | |
n.熟虑,(尤指宗教的)默想,沉思,(pl.)冥想录 | |
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3 abounding | |
adj.丰富的,大量的v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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4 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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5 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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6 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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7 deigned | |
v.屈尊,俯就( deign的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8 stimulated | |
a.刺激的 | |
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9 piqued | |
v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 );激起(好奇心) | |
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10 distraction | |
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐 | |
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11 disturbance | |
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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12 incompatible | |
adj.不相容的,不协调的,不相配的 | |
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13 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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14 sublime | |
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
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15 profuse | |
adj.很多的,大量的,极其丰富的 | |
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16 ingenuousness | |
n.率直;正直;老实 | |
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17 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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18 authoritative | |
adj.有权威的,可相信的;命令式的;官方的 | |
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19 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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20 dictating | |
v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 );口授;支配;摆布 | |
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21 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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22 recoiled | |
v.畏缩( recoil的过去式和过去分词 );退缩;报应;返回 | |
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23 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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24 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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25 approbation | |
n.称赞;认可 | |
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26 probation | |
n.缓刑(期),(以观后效的)察看;试用(期) | |
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27 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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28 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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29 enchant | |
vt.使陶醉,使入迷;使着魔,用妖术迷惑 | |
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30 rambling | |
adj.[建]凌乱的,杂乱的 | |
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31 solitudes | |
n.独居( solitude的名词复数 );孤独;荒僻的地方;人迹罕至的地方 | |
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32 softened | |
(使)变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 ); 缓解打击; 缓和; 安慰 | |
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33 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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34 scones | |
n.烤饼,烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 ) | |
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35 ushered | |
v.引,领,陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36 refinement | |
n.文雅;高尚;精美;精制;精炼 | |
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37 apathetic | |
adj.冷漠的,无动于衷的 | |
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38 insignificant | |
adj.无关紧要的,可忽略的,无意义的 | |
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39 presumption | |
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
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40 immortal | |
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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41 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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42 valid | |
adj.有确实根据的;有效的;正当的,合法的 | |
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43 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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44 renounce | |
v.放弃;拒绝承认,宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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45 teems | |
v.充满( teem的第三人称单数 );到处都是;(指水、雨等)暴降;倾注 | |
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46 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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47 atheism | |
n.无神论,不信神 | |
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48 ethics | |
n.伦理学;伦理观,道德标准 | |
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49 equivocation | |
n.模棱两可的话,含糊话 | |
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50 miraculous | |
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的 | |
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51 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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52 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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53 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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54 amber | |
n.琥珀;琥珀色;adj.琥珀制的 | |
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55 vapors | |
n.水汽,水蒸气,无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 );自夸者;幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁(症)v.自夸,(使)蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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56 musing | |
n. 沉思,冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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57 depicted | |
描绘,描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 ); 描述 | |
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58 dome | |
n.圆屋顶,拱顶 | |
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59 aisles | |
n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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60 celestial | |
adj.天体的;天上的 | |
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61 shrines | |
圣地,圣坛,神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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62 fretted | |
焦躁的,附有弦马的,腐蚀的 | |
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63 spires | |
n.(教堂的) 塔尖,尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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64 phantom | |
n.幻影,虚位,幽灵;adj.错觉的,幻影的,幽灵的 | |
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65 choirs | |
n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 );唱诗队;公开表演的合唱团;(教堂)唱经楼 | |
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66 pageants | |
n.盛装的游行( pageant的名词复数 );穿古代服装的游行;再现历史场景的娱乐活动;盛会 | |
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